ZZ Top, Skynyrd to rock downtown Erie on Sunday

HEAR IT

ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cadillac Black will play Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Jerry Uht Park, 110 E. 10th St. Doors open at 5 p.m. Tickets are $58.75 advance, $63.75 day of show. They're on sale at the Warner Theatre box office, by phone at 452-4857 and online at www.erieevents.com.Show notes: ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd will play full sets.OK to bring: Lawn chairs, blankets, cameras. Not okay: Filming, umbrellas, coolers with food and drinks. The show goes on, rain or shine. Park concessions will be available. Parking costs $3 at the Erie Parking Authority ramp at East 10th and French streets; $4 at East Eighth and French streets.

ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons agreed to answer some questions by e-mail about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band's upcoming new album ("La Futura," out Tuesday) and rich history. His answers were way too fun to trim, so here they are, verbatim, including his own guacamole recipe. Take that with a grain of salt -- and mucho jalapenos -- and read on.

Q "La Futura" is ZZ Top's first album in nine years. What was the band aiming for, sound-wise, with this one? The band dug down deep to tag the essence of that original ZZ Top sound -- you know, low-down, dirty and L-O-U-D. We kind of had in mind the most elemental of approaches -- we just banded together and played until it felt right. Then, we did it all over again. And again.

Q You worked with Rick Rubin, who has amassed quite a legacy as a producer. Did you see eye-to-eye (or ear-to-ear)? Often when we thought we "had it," he'd counter that we "almost have it, now!" So we found ourselves going back to give it another shot, or two, or five, and invariably, the result was an improvement. It was, essentially, a fairly smooth process and, as noted, somewhat time consuming yet, ultimately, worth the effort.

Q Which ZZ Top album do you think is most underappreciated, one you wish people would go back and listen to and why? "Rhythmeen." It's ZZ Top's true "trio" record ... just the three of us with no overdubs. Really close to the bone. It kind of got caught up in label shake-ups at the time yet it stands up stridently today. Give a listen.

Q Keith Richards inducted ZZ Top into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How far do you go back with him? ZZ Top has shared the bill with the Rolling Stones on several occasions. The first time (was) in Hawaii and that was, to borrow, a phrase, an adventure in paradise. Keith is so much the "fine guy" and a real music lover. Given the choice of Champagne and caviar or listening to a Jimmy Reed record, I'm pretty sure he'd go with Jimmy Reed. Our adventures with the Stones over the years have become epic -- particularly the fully approved, side-stage dice games during any performance of "Tumbling Dice." Charlie Watts can keep a backbeat and a keen eye to certify fair play of the bones!

Q Is it true Jimi Hendrix befriended you when you were young? Tell us about that. Yes, our pre-ZZ band, The Moving Sidewalks, toured with the Experience, which revealed that Jimi was one of the warmest guys you'd ever want to meet. Unlike his stage persona, he was rather quiet and shy. We were with him when the Jimi Hendrix Experience played the Forum in L.A. A day or two before the show, we jumped in a hi-rider 1951 Jeep station wagon with Jimi at the wheel and towed a mobile billboard advertising the show. Nobody along the Sunset Strip was aware that the headline attraction was cruising up the street toting a giant sign promoting the show!

Q Over 40 years with the same lineup; that's probably a rock and roll record. What kept you going, kept the group together? We're often asked this question and have given it some thought now that we're considered "beaters of the odds and beaters of the backbeat." The plain fact is that we have a good time doing what we do -- playing music around the world, recording, etc., so we've never thought about anything beyond that. It's still a done excursion into modified mayhem, so why stop now? Lots of bands break up only to get back together, so you might want to consider the past three or four decades as our reunion tour, even though we've never really stopped.